


Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder...Right?

by oh_imintrouble



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, But no main character death, Definite Smut, Established Relationship, Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Meet the Family, Meeting the Parents, Misunderstandings, Possible smut, Sick Character, chap two tag update, i don't know what happened, i have no idea how angsty this is going to get i'm so sorry, i just really wanted to write fluff, they're both in college, whoops, will update tags as they change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-08-30 08:41:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8526394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oh_imintrouble/pseuds/oh_imintrouble
Summary: Really it was an easy decision for him. Lance loved his family more than anything, and he would do anything to lessen the burden for them. He dropped his classes, and decided once his younger siblings were old enough to take care of themselves he could go back to school. Sure, in a way he was putting his own life on hold, but again, it was an easy decision for him to make. He just...didn’t share that decision with anyone. Not his parents, his sister, not even his boyfriend back at school. For all Keith knew, this was temporary, and he would be back next semester. 
--
All that Lance wants is to make everyone happy and he's trying really hard please love this boy, Keith





	1. Swing Life Away

**Author's Note:**

> so...this started out as "I want to write them in a long distance relationship and have Keith come visit for dates!" and it became "HIS MOM IS SICK AND LANCE HAS TO KEEP HIS FAMILY TOGETHER AND DROP OUT OF SCHOOL AND GIVE UP HIS DREAMS"--which trust me I'll be getting into--and I don't really know where I went wrong??? anyway, first multi-chapter fic in eons so buckle up kids all aboard the fucking hot mess express it's gonna be a ride

**_mi sol <3: I bought my train ticket._ **

Lance immediately perked up when his phone went off, his eyes bright and a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He never knew that just five words could drastically improve his mood like this, but here he was, worries cast aside and the biggest smile he’s had in weeks on his face.

**_meme lord: awesome! what’s your eta?_ **

**_mi sol <3: I’m heading to the LA station 8am Friday, so I should be in Portland about 11pm. _ **

**_mi sol <3: Are you picking me up or should I plan to get a cab? _ **

**_meme lord: i’ll get you! it’ll be late enough i can get Maria to watch the youngins while they sleep_ **

**_mi sol <3: You sure?_ **

**_meme lord: positive!_ **

**_meme lord: I can’t wait to see you <3 voy a sonar contigo~_ **

**_mi sol <3: You know I can translate texts right? It’s not like when you’re talking to me in person._ **

**_mi sol <3: …I’ll dream about you too, nerd. Love you._ **

He closed his eyes a moment, holding his phone to his chest, and tried to imagine how Keith looked at that moment. He would be blushing, he knew that for sure, but he couldn’t decide if he would be smiling or grimacing at him for embarrassing him. Lance hoped he was smiling like he was. He hoped he was just as excited as he was—he wasn’t sure if he would even be able to sleep now.

It had been two months since he’d seen his boyfriend, and though he wouldn’t admit it to his family, he was pretty sure it was killing him. They had texted daily, called each other at least once every other day, skyped when Keith wasn’t busy with schoolwork, but it just wasn’t enough. Lance was a very physical person, he needed to be able to hold his boyfriend’s hand, run his fingers through his hair, and give him kisses whenever he wanted. Not to mention being able to touch his butt. God how he missed Keith’s butt. The pictures he’d snuck really didn’t do it justice.

He was about to ask Keith if he had a minute to talk when he heard crying from down the hall. Lance sighed, already pushing himself out of bed, and opened the chat again as he left his room.

**_meme lord: I love you too~_ **

**_meme lord: gotta get Leo, talk to you later?_ **

**_mi sol <3: I have to finish a paper tonight then a test tomorrow morning, so probably not. Sorry._ **

Another sigh left him as he pocketed his phone, and he pushed the door to his sister’s room open. Her suitcases sat in the corner, both flipped open with various articles of clothing strewn about, and toys littered the floor. She hadn’t wanted to deal with moving her crib from her apartment, so there were pillows propped up on the sides of the bed, preventing her two-year-old Leo from rolling off in his sleep. He had never really had problems with that in their own home, but being in a new environment and his mother being gone sporadically had changed that. Now, he rarely slept through the night, and with Carmen at work it was up to Lance to take care of him.

He plucked the toddler from the bed, setting him on his hip, and carefully danced around the room with him. Lance cooed comfortingly, switching between English and Spanish like his own father used to do until his cries faded to whimpers, and his whimpers turned to quiet sniffles.

“Hey bud,” he murmured, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, “think you can go back to sleep tonight?”

Leo looked up at him, tilting his head, and simply sniffled in response. His eyes were still teary but completely alert, and all hope for Lance getting even a somewhat decent night’s sleep were tossed aside.

“Alrighty, let’s go put on a movie then.”

He carried him out to the living room, quietly closing the door behind him and practically tip-toeing down the hallway to prevent waking up any of the others. Lance set Leo down on the sofa with a soft “stay here,” and went to the extensive movie collection taking residence on both sides of the television. He was feeling Disney, but opted for a more mature Disney movie in hopes that it would still put his nephew to sleep, and pulled The Hunchback of Notre Dame from its place. After placing the DVD in the player he took the remote from the entertainment center and went to take a seat on the sofa, frowning as he took note of the mess in the room.

There were backpacks piled on one armchair, worksheets and books still littering the coffee table, toys strewn all about the room, assorted pill bottles high up on the bookcases to prevent any of the smaller kids from reaching them. Lance sighed, rubbing his hand over his face, and after a moment of deliberation decided to leave it until the morning. He didn’t want to accidentally pack the wrong assignments in the wrong backpack or lose a favored toy.

Things had gotten rather hectic to say the least in the past few months. It all started when his mother had her stroke several months back. His parents had both been working to support their younger children and Lance in college, but after she was hospitalized she was all but forced into retirement. The stroke had left her with not only paralysis of her legs but aphasia, making once simple tasks nearly impossible for her. His father picked up more shifts at the factory he worked out to pick up the slack, but that left all the household duties to her. Lance’s older sister Carmen moved back home to help, but it was increasingly more difficult for her juggling both work and caring for not only her son but younger brother and sister. His older brother lived too far away to do anything, and that just left Lance.

Really it was an easy decision for him. Lance loved his family more than anything, and he would do anything to lessen the burden for them. At first he had tried to keep up with schoolwork, switch to online classes so he could do his assignments no matter what state he was in. Unfortunately...that hope was short lived. He dropped his classes and sent his counselor an email explaining his situation, and how maybe once his younger siblings were old enough to take care of themselves he could go back to school. Sure, in a way he was putting his own life on hold, but again, it was an easy decision for him to make. He just...didn’t share that decision with anyone. Not his parents, his sister, not even his boyfriend back at school. For all Keith knew, this was temporary, and he would be back next semester.

It wasn’t that he liked lying, he just thought it would be easier for everyone involved. He didn’t want anyone feeling guilty for his own choices, so he let them believe he was still taking his classes online and got his schoolwork done after the younger kids went to bed.

The only thing he couldn’t shrug off anymore was how much he’d been missing Keith. They had met two years ago at their freshman orientation, and it was love at first sight for Lance. Well, lust, technically, and a little bit of resentment, but that was beside the point. After several months of dancing around his feelings he’d asked him out, and they had spent the last year and a half bickering together. And it was the happiest year and a half of Lance’s young life.

When he brought up visiting to Keith, he was sure he was going to get a no. Not that he could blame him; midterms were approaching and Keith always pushed himself to a breaking point with studying and cramming. But he happily agreed, stating that he could use a break from classes and begrudgingly admitted to wanting to see Lance anyway. And now he was going to see him in just a few days!

The thought alone was enough to make Lance perk up again, nearly vibrating with excitement and bouncing Leo on his lap. The toddler whined in protest, and slapped at Lance’s hands at his waist to get him to stop interrupting the movie. He gave a soft apology and leaned back against the cushions, wrapping one arm around the small boy while his free hand took his phone out. He had meant to just scroll through facebook for a bit, maybe check out instagram and see if Allura had posted any new dance videos or makeup looks, but found himself instead rereading the short conversation he’d had with Keith. He would definitely call him cheesy for it, but he didn’t care. He was going to make sure the house was spotless, beg the kids to be on their best behavior, and pray to whatever controlled the universe that he could convince Carmen to get a shift covered so she could stay home and give the two young men a much needed date night.

Lance somehow fell asleep long before Leo did, the young boy powering through until the end credits rolled before drifting to sleep in his lap.

 

 

Lance couldn’t sit still all day. The house was immaculate by the early afternoon, and when Carmen brought the twins home from school they promised not to wreak havoc before he could bring Keith back. His older sister had agreed to get the weekend off from the bar and swore to not work overtime at the restaurant so he would only have to be home during the day to make sure the kids were taken care of and their mother was all set with her meds.

He got to the train station thirty minutes early, and sat in his car while he waited, blasting the heat in preparation for his snow-virgin boyfriend. He had the radio playing at first, then hooked up his phone to the auxiliary cord to play his own music, purposefully rigging it to play “their song” when Keith got to the car. What could he say? His boyfriend turned him into a sap.

When he heard the train coming down the tracks he perked up, staying where he was and simply watching until the first passengers started to trickle out. He pushed himself out of the car, but remained at the drivers door at Keith’s request--he had insisted against the cliche running to each other and showing far too much pda.

_“Besides, I’m going to be exhausted and gross from travelling all day.”_

Keith was one of the last to emerge from the station, and despite his tired eyes, sluggish walk, and obvious discomfort from the trip, he had never looked so beautiful to Lance. Unable to control himself too much, he  met him on the walkway several feet away from the car, and immediately pulled him into a tight embrace. He swung him in a circle, ignoring his yelps of protest, and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

“Lance what did I-”

“I know I know but I’m just-” another kiss, “so happy-” another, this time to his nose, “to see you,” his forehead, “I missed you so much.”

Though he tried to look stern Keith smiled, his eyes showing it more than his expression, and he wrapped his arms around his waist in a vice grip. “Dumbass,” he grumbled, but Lance was able to detect the affection in his tone. “I missed you too,” he admitted, burying his face in his shoulder.

Lance happily wrapped his arms around him, and rested his head on his, closing his eyes. He never wanted this moment to end. He felt warm despite the near freezing temperatures, and he was so happy he wasn’t sure his heart could physically handle it. After what simultaneously felt like an eternity and only a few seconds, he reluctantly pulled away enough to look down at Keith, and cupped his face in his hands.

“I love you,” he said, leaning down to give him another sweet kiss. With a smirk playing at his lips he dropped his hands to his hips, seemingly innocent until he trailed further back to rest them over his ass. “And I love _you,_ ” he repeated, giving him a squeeze, and _oh god he was wearing his favorite jeans-_

“Lance!”

“I’m sorry! Except not really. It’s been _so long_ ,” he whined, dropping his head to his shoulder, and pulled him closer.

“I’m sure you’ll want another moment along with my ass--even though, yeah, hi, the rest of me is also here--but I am _freezing_ and if I don’t get any real food I might just eat you. Don’t waggle your eyebrows at me-”

“Okay okay, geez,” Lance sighed, and finally let him go to lead him to the waiting car. Before getting in himself he took off his jacket to remove the hoodie he was wearing underneath, passing it over to Keith as he took the driver’s seat as though they had done this hundreds of times. Which really, probably wasn’t too far off considering that semester the dorm’s air conditioning broke and left them in a frozen tundra--he knew the drill. “Want to just get some shitty fast food on the drive home?”

“Please,” Keith muttered, shrugging the jacket on before crossing his arms over his chest, and leaned over so he was resting his head on his shoulder. “If I fall asleep you know what I like.”

Lance hummed, smiling, and set the hand that wasn’t on the steering wheel on the other man’s thigh. He drove in relative silence, letting his boyfriend doze off to the soft chords of their song. He went through a burger joint’s drive through, ordered Keith’s usual, then drove the remaining mile home. Once parked he gently roused him from sleep, and handed over the brown paper bag to him, opting to carry his one piece of luggage for him.

With a hand at the small of his back he led him into the house, sighing in relief when it was silent inside, and immediately led him to his old bedroom. “You’ll meet everyone tomorrow,” he explained, voice low to prevent anyone from ruining his plan, and set his suitcase on the floor at the foot of his bed.

He flopped onto his bed before tossing his jacket aside and kicking his jeans off. Keith was still quietly finishing off his late night dinner, and by the drained look on his face Lance was pretty sure he was running on autopilot at this point. Now that he thought about it, there was a good chance that he’d pulled a couple all nighters to get ahead on his schoolwork so this trip could happen…

If it were even possible he looked at him with even more love and affection, and when Keith caught his gaze he grinned for him, making a show of opening his arms to him. “Keith, baby, I’m pretty sure if you don’t get in my arms right now and cuddle the fuck out of me I might _actually_ die. Like, this is a very real concern now, because you’re too goddamn cute and I’m somehow not already holding you.”

Keith rolled his eyes as he finished off the last of his fries, and balled up the paper bag before tossing it in the waste basket he noticed sitting by his desk. “Wow, sucks to suck. I’ll miss you when you die.”

“Stop being a stubborn dick for like five minutes and love me dammit.”

He snorted a laugh, already shrugging off the borrowed hoodie, and flipped the light off before crawling into bed with the other man. “Only because you’re so desperate,” he said, resolute with a nod and a teasing smirk, and closed his eyes.

“You love me,” Lance pointed out, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him close so his head was at his chest and he could tangle his legs with his. He lay quietly a moment, letting it sink in that he was _actually_ there with him, before ducking his head down to bury his nose in his hair. He moved one hand from his waist to run his fingers through his hair, a dumb grin pulling at his lips. “Never thought I’d be so happy to see your stupid hair.”

He didn’t even have to look at him to know the face Keith was giving him.

“So I’m going to just head home then-”

Lance tightened his grip on him, and leaned back just enough to look down at him. “Yeah good luck getting me off of you.”

“That a challenge?”

“Yes- wait, no. No you’re stuck with me until next week. Because you know you missed me too.”

Keith sighed, as though he was talking about some strenuous chore, and draped his arm over his waist. “Yeah. You got me there.” He leaned up to press a kiss to his lips, and Lance swore he could feel him smiling.

He pressed into the kiss to deepen it, then almost immediately pulled back. “Nope, can’t do that anymore. If you want to get any sleep at all I’m gonna need you to stop kissing me.”

“Normally I would fight that but I honestly don’t have any energy left in me. So fine. Goodnight.”

Lance beamed in response to the sleepy smile Keith gave him, and ran his fingers through his dark hair. “Buenos noches, nene.”


	2. Beating Heart Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith meets the family and can barely look any of them in the eye because oh god he is so sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so when I started writing this chapter I thought "y'know I don't think I'm gonna write any porn in this fic"  
> let's all take a moment to laugh together  
> chapter is in Keith's pov, so I'm probably going to start switching off between the two of them

Keith woke up to warmth—tanned arms holding him in place, the soft rise and fall of his chest at his back, and obnoxiously gross snoring in his ear. For just a moment, he was convinced he was dreaming. He carefully turned around in his arms, and looked up at Lance’s face, a soft smile playing at the edges of his lips. The movement made Lance wrinkle his nose, his snoring stopping abruptly, and he groaned as he moved lower, burying his face in Keith’s chest. The shorter man wrapped one arm around his shoulders, and he reached his free hand up to trace the lines of his face. He trailed his fingertips down his nose, grazed his lips, then caressed his strong jawline with his thumb. 

He looked so…tired. Even with his long lashes he could see the dark circles under his eyes, and it made Keith frown. Lance had always been so upbeat and energetic, shrugging off people’s concerns even when he was struggling to keep it together. He hoped that wasn’t what he was doing now.

Keith wasn’t stupid, he knew how his boyfriend operated. Lance would take on whatever was expected of him with a smile, and if no one forcibly stopped him, he would run himself into the ground all while insisting he was fine. He couldn’t imagine how difficult it had been—being both a full time student as well as caregiver—and he hoped he wasn’t pushing himself too hard. That was why he was so willing to visit when he’d brought it up, because he knew if Lance had him around he wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else. There may have been more…selfish ulterior motives to visiting—he missed spending time with his boyfriend, sue him—but more than anything he just wanted to force him to take a break.

He ran his fingers through his short, cropped hair, and smiled as he ducked his head down to press a kiss to his temple. He felt him stir before Lance gave another soft groan, this time leaning his head back to stare up at him through half-lidded eyes.

“What’re you doing?” He grumbled, voice low and husky from sleep.

“Watching you sleep. Like a creep.”

Lance snorted a laugh, shaking his head before yawning. “At least you know you’re a creep I guess,” he sighed, rubbing a hand over his face to try and further rouse himself from sleep. “God it’s been a long ass time since I slept that well.”

“That’s pretty gay, dude,” Keith pointed out, biting back a smile.

“Shit you’re right,” he laughed, releasing his boyfriend’s waist, and flopped onto his back. “I forgot to say no homo, whatever will I do?”

Keith moved with him, half laying on the other man, and set his arms on his chest, resting his chin on his wrist. “I mean, it’s too late to take it back now, so you might as well kiss me while you’re at it.”

Lance looked down at him through half-lidded eyes, and ran a hand through his black hair. “Do I get to touch your butt too?”

He cracked, unable to stop a soft snort of a laugh from escaping him, and reached up to push at his face. “I’m impressed you haven’t already,” he said, letting himself grin at Lance.

The other man clapped his hands together as if he were saying a prayer, and muttered something unintelligible under his breath—though Keith was sure it was something stupid like ‘thank you, god.’ Done with his theatrics, he reached down to grab at Keith’s hips, practically manhandling him as he pulled him closer so he was straddling him.

“C’mere,” he murmured, one hand reaching up to tilt his chin down, and the other grabbing a handful of his ass. Lance grinned, seemingly unable to wipe the damn near giddy look off his face, and craned his neck up to meet Keith halfway in a kiss. 

It started out soft, languid, just a gentle slide of lips as he shamelessly palmed his ass with both hands now. Keith had his face cupped in his hands, and he moved his hips to simply adjust his position when he felt something brush his thigh. He pulled out of the kiss to look down at Lance, one brow raised as if to say  _ ‘really?’ _

“Okay, listen,” Lance choked out, heat flooding his cheeks. “First of all, it’s been  _ so long  _ since I’ve been able to touch you, and second, it’s morning. Fight me.”

“I would, but you’ll probably like that.”

Lance swat at his ass, his cheeks flushed red, then put both hands over his face. “I’m a suffering man.  _ Unless… _ I could talk you into a quickie?”

Keith stared down at him a moment, chewing his bottom lip in actual, genuine thought. Under normal circumstances, he would never turn him down, and he was just as frustrated as Lance was. But… “I don’t know if I can meet your mom in good conscious if we did. I would only think ‘hi my name is Keith, I blew your son this morning.’”

He whined dramatically, throwing his arms up to pull Keith back down to him. “So because you have a dirty mind we can’t?”

“I can literally feel your boner against my thigh.”

“…Touche.”

Keith chewed his lip thoughtfully, glancing from the bedroom door to Lance and back to the door again. After a long moment of silence, he looked down at his boyfriend, bracing his arms on either side of his head. He held a hand up, pointing at him with a stern look on his face. “Can you be quiet?” A nod. An even more stern, questioning look. A more enthusiastic nod.

With one more glance at the door he dropped his hand down to palm Lance through his boxers, his erection already straining against the fabric. A low hiss escaped Lance when he slipped his hand under the boxers to touch him directly, and Keith quickly clapped his free hand over his mouth.

“Do you even have lube?” He mumbled, leaning away to rummage through the dresser beside his bed a moment. He came back with a well used bottle, and was just about to squeeze it on his fingers when Lance stopped him.

“ _ Please,  _ let me.”

Keith rolled his eyes, his cheeks flushed, and handed the bottle over to his boyfriend. Lance scoot back so he was sitting up with his back against the wall, and pulled him closer by his hips. He tugged his jeans down to his thighs, and coated his fingers in lube, slipping his hand around his hip then between his cheeks. Lance wrapped one arm around his waist, holding him close, and lightly massaged his tight entrance before slipping one finger past the tight ring of muscle. 

Keith gasped, and quickly buried his face in his collarbone to keep himself from making any further noises. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck, shuddering as he fingered him, a second finger soon joining the first. It had been so long since he’d been stretched like that, and when he slipped a third finger in him he felt tears stinging the corners of his eyes.

“One- one sec,” he muttered, holding onto Lance for dear life. 

Lance gently massaged his back with his free hand, trailing his hand from his tailbone up to stroke the nape of his neck until he could relax. 

“I got you, baby,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the side of his head, and curled his fingers inside him.

When the light burn faded away he nodded, giving him the okay to move again. After he withdrew his fingers Keith sat up to pull his pants and boxer briefs the rest of the way off, dropping them to the side. He was about to straddle him again when Lance shook his head.

The taller man took him by the hips, flipping them around to pin him to the bed. He crawled over him, spreading his thighs, and looked down at him with the most predatory hunger Keith had ever seen from him. Lance pushed his boxers down to his thighs, then hooked his arms under his knees to push them back to his chest. 

“Shit, um...I don’t...I don’t have a condom…”

Keith frowned, his blush spreading to his ears, and wondered why he was  _ just now sharing this  _ when he had his feet damn near over his head. But they were both clean--Lance had only slept with one person before him and Keith lost his virginity to his boyfriend. It would just be a little gross if he didn’t pull out but-

“I don’t care, just fuck me already.”

Lance again looked like he was mentally thanking every deity in existence before slicking up his cock with lube. He lined himself up with his entrance, and watched himself slide in, moving painstakingly slowly until his hips were pressed flush against his. Keith threw his head back, one hand covering his mouth, and panted into his palm, trying to force his body to get used to the almost unfamiliar stretch. He dropped his legs down to wrap around his boyfriend’s waist, crossing his ankles at the small of his back to lock him in place.

“Fuck, baby, you’re so tight,” Lance breathed, dropping his forehead against his. Can I-”

“ _ Please.” _

Slowly at first Lance started to pull out, then slid back in, never leaving much space between their hips. Before Lance had left school every time they would get together would be rough, experimental as they went through kinks they had wanted to try out. The only time they “made love” was the first time the slept together--well, technically the second time, but their first time mostly just consisted of drunken, messy blowjobs. This time however, he was moving slowly, gently, reaching down to wrap his arms around Keith and cradle him to his chest.

It wasn’t what he had expected from Lance, but it was exactly what they both needed. He found a slow rhythm, angling his hips to hit his sweet spot with each thrust, and Keith wanted to cry out. He clung to his boyfriend, digging his nails into his back, and encouraging a particularly sharp snap of his hips. 

“ _ Te gusta?”  _ Lance breathed, smirking down at him. He groaned quietly when Keith nipped and sucked at his collarbone, and he cupped his face in his hands to kiss him tenderly. “ _ Fuck.  _ Pude follar todo el dia.”

“Lance, Lance, I need-”

“I know, baby,” he murmured, reaching one hand down to wrap his fingers around Keith’s neglected cock. He stroked him in time with each roll of his hips, and kissed him sweetly, peppering his lips, his cheeks, his nose with kisses.

Keith gasped against his cheek, a shudder running through his body as his orgasm rocked through him in waves. He clenched around Lance, and his boyfriend gave a surprised “ _ fuck _ ” before spilling into him. It was...not as awful as Keith had been expecting. Gross. But tolerable.

They laid together at first, holding onto each other as their breathing calmed. Lance held him close, running his fingers through his hair, and whispered words of admiration, of love, into his temple.

“I love you too,” Keith murmured, closing his eyes, and just enjoying the rare moment of pure tenderness from his boyfriend. However, everything had to come to an end, and after Lance had pulled out he felt his cum starting to ooze out of his ass. “I need a shower.”

After cleaning up the best they could Lance snuck Keith into the hallway bathroom, giving him the chance to finally shower the funk of travelling away. At first he was a bit uneasy with the idea of being left alone in a house he didn’t know, but once Lance turned the shower on for him it took all of his self control to not strip then and there. He waited for his boyfriend to leave him alone to get undressed and step in the shower, almost immediately relaxing under the warm spray of water.

He gave his body a moment to adjust to the temperature before turning the dial hotter, only fully relaxing when steam rolled out and his skin was flushed and angry. Keith looked at the assorted shampoos and body soaps lined up along the edge of the tub, snorting a laugh at the idea of Lance getting startled by the creepy Shrek soap that was currently staring up at him. He used what he assumed was his boyfriend’s old spice body wash and honey shampoo and conditioner. 

Nearly twenty minutes later he was emerging from the bathroom, mentally chastising himself for forgetting to bring clothes with him as he tightened his grip on the towel he had wrapped around his hips. He looked both ways down the hallway before darting back into his boyfriend’s room, and quickly closed the door behind him.

Lance whistled at him from his place on his bed, setting his phone down on his chest to look the other man up and down. Keith pointedly rolled his eyes before going to his suitcase to dig out an outfit that hopefully said  _ ‘I am a respectful young man please don’t hate me.’ _ He pulled on a new pair of boxer briefs and clean, black skinny jeans, as well as a plain red Henley. After getting dressed he ran a hand through his hair, checking that he had gotten each lock with the hair dryer before tying it back in a low ponytail.

“Well don’t you clean up nice. Nervous?”

Keith gave him a glare as he pushed his sleeves up to his elbows, the flush on his cheeks matching his shirt. “No, no not at all. I’m totally prepared to meet my longterm boyfriend’s family for the first time after spending a good part of my shower cleaning cum out of my ass.”

“Keith, that’s vulgar.”

Though he wanted to be angry, spit back some snarky comment, his anxiety heavily outweighed his urge. What if they didn’t like him? His train back wasn’t until Wednesday and he didn’t exactly have the money to stay in a motel the entire time he was in town. And worse than that, Lance’s family was everything to him, if they didn’t like him that would probably just be it between them.

Keith groaned, putting his face in his hands, and blindly walked forward until he was falling on the bed on top of his boyfriend. Lance grunted in surprise—and from having a surprisingly heavy man dropping on him like a deadweight—then wrapped his arms loosely around his shoulders, rubbing a soothing hand down his spine.

“Baby, they’re going to love you. No matter how sarcastic you are or how you tend to rub people the wrong way-“

“Not helping.”

“ _ Anyway.  _ No matter what you think about yourself or even what they might think about you, you make me happy.  _ Estoy desesperadamente enamorado de ti _ . They will love you because they know this.”

Keith finally picked his head up to look at him, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed, scrutinizing him. “What did you say? Why don’t you have a translate button?”

“Oh but I do,” he said, smirking when Keith quirked a brow at him. Lance tapped his lips with his pointer finger, earning another roll of his eyes and an over exaggerated gagging noise. He laughed, tightening his grip on his smaller boyfriend when he tried to escape. “Oh come on, you know you want to know what I said!”

He stared him down, nose wrinkled in what could only be described as disgust. When Lance pouted at him he sighed, but leaned in, pressing a quick peck to his lips. “Translate.”

Lance grinned, satisfied, and leaned in again to nudge his nose against his. “I’m hopelessly in love with you, querido.”

No matter how many times they told the other that they loved them, Keith wasn’t sure he would ever be used to it. It was a phrase he’d really only started to hear when he went to college and met his current group of friends, most of them open with their affection. The first time Lance had said it, Keith cried. After punching him. Partly because ‘ _ oh god he loves me I’m so happy,’ _ but mostly because  _ ‘who the hell says I love you for the first time when their boyfriend is hungover and puking?’ _

Now at least he could avoid freezing up or lashing out. Instead he hid his face in his hands, cheeks bright red, and mumbled a soft “I love you too” in his palms. 

“Aw, my poor awkward baby,” Lance cooed, running his fingers through the fringe that framed his face.

“I take it back.”

“Nope, too late, already said it.” He pushed himself to his feet, gently pushing Keith off, and stretched his arms above his head. “Okay, we’ll start with Carmen so you won’t feel as awkward, then Maria and Manny,” he rambled, likely just thinking out loud, and scratched the back of his head as he looked at the door. “Dad just left for work so you won’t have to meet him until dinner, so that’s only my siblings then Mama—oh and Leo who’s super easy to chill with. Except, wait,” he tuned back into reality, and looked down at Keith who still lay on his stomach on the bed, “how are you with toddlers?”

He looked up at him, one brow raised, and cocked his head. “Have you met me?”

Lance opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it again. “Okay that’s fair. Uh, no worries, he’s usually pretty well behaved so…alright. Are you ready?” He asked, pointing his thumb to the door. 

As he would ever be. Keith pushed himself out of bed, and rubbed his sweaty hands on the front of his jeans, following his boyfriend out of the safety of his bedroom. From the hallway everything seemed peaceful. It was only when they hit the living room that they heard the chaos from the kitchen; cookware banging, kids arguing, a baby crying, and annoyed yelling.

Lance sighed, rubbing his hand over his face, and set a hand on Keith’s shoulder to prevent him from retreating. He pushed him through the doorway, forcing him out of the frying pan and directly into the fire. “Yo nerds! Chill for like two seconds!” He yelled, announcing their arrival.

The toddler that sat at the table--propped up on a couple phone books to help him reach--was the first to react to them, his crying stopping almost immediately as he stared up at the uncle and the stranger. There was a young woman at the stove who whipped around next, eyes wide and cheeks flushed, obviously flustered by the whole situation.

“Lance! Hey! I know I said you could get a break, but could you-“

His boyfriend held up his hand, stopping her, then left him to break up the two children that still sat there bickering. He set a hand on both of their heads, and leaned down to their level without actually looking at either of them. “If you two don’t chill, I will duct tape you together again, do not test me.”

…Again?

Judging by the way the two of them visibly tensed, Keith assumed that wasn’t an empty threat, and he looked at his boyfriend incredulously. Lance caught his eye and smirked, giving him a wink.

“Yeah, don’t get on my bad side, babe. You might end up taped to the ceiling.”

Carmen glared at her brother, pointing her spatula at him menacingly. “Watch it, hermanito. Your boyfriend looks-“ she stopped, as if the word ‘boyfriend’ made something snap in her, and dropped the spatula. “Oh! Babe! You said babe! Is this your boyfriend?!”

Lance snorted a laugh, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Nah, I just picked this one up on the side of the road. My boyfriend is way too much of a dork with his X-Files and conspiracy documentaries to be that hot.”

Keith rolled his eyes, and went to stand in front of his boyfriend’s sister, awkwardly holding his hand out for a handshake. “Hi, I’m Keith, Keith Kogane. Um. Yeah, unfortunately, I’m the boyfriend.”

“Hey!”

Carmen grinned and wiped her hands on her pants, smearing flour and egg on the sides of her thighs before wrapping him in a hug. “Hi! I’m Carmen, I’m Lance’s older sister.” She let him go and held him by the shoulders, looking him over while Keith subtly did the same to her. 

He could definitely see the family resemblance, not only in her bone structure or the striking color of her eyes, but the way she smiled, how she emanated this warmth like she was reuniting with an old friend instead of meeting a stranger for the first time. She was also aggravatingly taller than him, but only an inch while Lance had a solid four on him. 

She gave a nod, pulling him from his thoughts, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders to turn the both of them so they were facing Lance. “I like this one. But he’s waaaay too pretty for you.”

“ _ Excuse me?! _ ”

Keith snorted a laugh, and quickly reached one hand up to cover his mouth. 

“Hush, you! Carm! He has a  _ mullet!” _

She quirked a brow at that, and looked down at him, reaching her hand up to touch the short ponytail at the nape of his neck. “Lance…that’s definitely not a mullet.”

“Thank you!”

“You stay out of this!” Lance took him by the hand, and pulled him so they were both standing in front of the children at the table. “You two settle this: who’s prettier, Keith, or you favorite big brother?”

Without missing a beat, Manny said his name while Maria piped up with “your boyfriend.”

“And I like Andy more,” Manny concluded, giving a nod. “He’s not mean to us.”

“I’m not  _ mean!  _ It’s all in good humor!” 

Defeated, Lance slunk down to the floor until he was lying flat on the tile, one arm draped dramatically over his face. “I have been betrayed by my own family. How will I ever go on?” He sighed, then moved his arm just enough to peek up at the toddler that was still seated at the table. “Leo, bud, you still love me, right?”

The small child looked from his uncle to Keith, then back to his uncle, before carefully climbing down from his chair. He crouched down, just barely staying up on his feet, and pat Lance’s leg. Keith couldn’t help the small smile on his face when he saw Lance practically light up before sitting up to capture the toddler in a hug.

“I knew I was still someone’s favorite!”

“I’m pretty sure I’m his favorite since I’m, y’know, his mom,” Carmen piped up, back turned to the whole situation as she turned to finish making breakfast.

“Silence!” He got to his feet, holding Leo on his hip, and pointed at Keith. “Leo, this is your tio Keith. Can you say  _ tio? _ ”

Keith flushed bright red, previously content with just watching the family interact without having to get involved. Now the toddler’s big brown eyes were fixed on him, and after a moment he mumbled a soft “tio,” then hid his face in Lance’s shoulder. His boyfriend beamed, and he pat the little boy’s back, praising him in Spanish as he went to set him down again.

“Oh, Lance, would you mind helping Mama get in her chair? She didn’t wake up before Dad left so he couldn’t do it and I don’t think I can manage.”

“Sure,” he shrugged, and looked at Keith, gently taking his hand in his. “C’mon, she’ll be excited to see you.”

Keith swallowed thickly but said nothing as he nodded, letting his boyfriend lead him out of the kitchen and back down the hallway. Lance stopped at the last door on the right, and let go of his hand, gesturing for him to wait a moment. He stayed standing in the hall while he ducked into the bedroom, muffled voices immediately picking up on the other side of the door. He awkwardly fiddled with the hem of his shirt while he waited, shifting his weight from foot to foot until he got the okay to go in.

He summoned all the courage he had before pushing the door open, his jaw clenching at what he saw. There were orange prescription bottles lining the vanity he assumed once held an array of cosmetics, books stacked up in random places on the floor, and a wheelchair sitting just beside the large bed. An older, plump woman was sitting in the chair, wearing a nightgown still with a blanket over her lap and legs. Her grey hair was in a braid over her collarbone, and despite the laugh lines around her mouth and eyes, she didn’t look very happy.

“Ah, hi,” he murmured, unsure if he had actually spoken out loud until she looked at him straight on. 

“Oh! Hola! You are Keith, yes?” She asked, her once emotionless expression showing nothing but warmth now. “Come, come, let me get a good look at you.”

Keith nodded, and stepped further into the room, taking the hands she had held out to him. “Yes, um, I’m Keith Kogane, Lance’s boyfriend. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Ah, so polite! El parece un hombre bueno,” she said, looking up at her son with a smile. “I am sorry we are meeting like this, I’m a mess.” She turned her gaze back to Keith, and he felt something shift uncomfortably in him.

Lance had shared his concerns regarding his mom with him often, told him how scared he was that her health was going to continue to decline. Keith had expected to see a woman far more frail, broken, but despite the vacantness he had seen earlier, he knew she wasn’t giving up. She was holding herself together for her family, and she was apologizing to him for not ‘looking presentable.’

“No,” his voice was stronger, firm, and he gave her hands a squeeze. “There’s nothing to apologize for. Thank you for having me while I’m here, if there’s anything I can do to help while I’m around please tell me.”

He felt his boyfriend’s gaze on him, and he chanced a glance in his direction, flushing bright red at the look on his face. Lance was absolutely beaming, his cheeks pink, and for a second he swore his eyes were glistening. 

He wiped at his eyes with his sleeve, passing it off with a laugh, and crouched down to his mother’s level. “Mama, se trata de amor de mi vida.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I realized I have way too much fun writing these two, let's just hope I'm writing them RIGHT because this is basically just shit my best friend and I would say to each other whoops  
> I tried my best with the Spanish, so if I fucked up I'm sorry, if I SUPREMELY fucked up and instead of saying something sweet like "he's the love of my life" said "I fucked a donkey this morning" PLEASE TELL ME  
> this chapter song is Beating Heart Baby by Head Automatica


	3. Northern Downpour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmen was sitting in the plush armchair while Leo played, flipping through all the channels on tv aimlessly. She noticed the boys murmuring softly and saw the stolen kisses, and set the remote down on the side table, just loud enough to get their attention.
> 
> “Okay,” she started, “ya’ll need to go on a date, I’m tired of the goo-goo eyes. You’re very cute but I can only take so much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really did mean for this chapter to be angsty but y'know shit happens and sometimes you end up writing a date and including a stupid personal story whoops

Lance knew he was being clingy. He knew he should let Keith have his space and recognize that he really didn’t _ need _ to be constantly touching him, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop. If they were standing he would be at his side, holding his hand or wrapping an arm around his waist. If they were lounging around the house he would put a hand on his thigh or throw his legs over his. Back at school they were affectionate with each other in their own way, and usually kept the PDA to a minimum. They were two separate people with their own lives, and they didn’t need to be at each other’s side at every waking moment. But he had to make up for lost time.

Keith didn’t seem to mind at least—which was a miracle considering he never had any problems telling Lance to lay off. If Lance wrapped his arm around him he would lean into it, and whenever he found himself with a lap full of his legs he would idly run his hand along Lance’s thigh. It was like they’d reverted back to the honeymoon phase, and neither of them could find it in themselves to complain.

His sister on the other hand had just about had enough. The first full day Keith was there went by rather smoothly—even meeting his dad was relatively painless considering he was tired from work—but by just midday Sunday she couldn’t keep quiet any longer. 

Lance was sitting on the sofa with his legs thrown over Keith’s lap, one arm over the back of the cushions and the other holding his phone up, going through all the snapchat filters with his boyfriend. Carmen was sitting in the plush armchair while Leo played, flipping through all the channels on tv aimlessly. She noticed the boys murmuring softly and saw the stolen kisses, and set the remote down on the side table, just loud enough to get their attention.

“Okay,” she started, “ya’ll need to go on a date, I’m tired of the goo-goo eyes. You’re very cute but I can only take so much.”

Keith flushed bright red, and quickly dropped his gaze to his lap. Lance looked at his sister, cheeks pink and a small pout on his face. “But I don’t want to leave you all alone to take care of everyone.”

“Dad’s home, it won’t be that bad.”

“…You sure?”

“ _ Positive. _ ”

Lance quickly jumped up from the sofa, and reached his hands out to the other man, giving a lopsided grin. “C’mon, we can go to the movies and I can show you this great place to look at the stars,” he said, pulling Keith to his feet. “You can borrow one of my heavy coats and— _ oh  _ we should get ice cream-“

“It’s like ten degrees out,” Keith reminded him, letting his boyfriend drag him to his feet.

“Are you really turning down ice cream just because it’s a little chilly out? Really Keith, I’m disappointed.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“That’s what I thought. Now c’mon,” Lance grinned, all but dragging him from the living room in search of heavy coats. He shrugged on his own puffy, navy coat, then pulled an old, black peacoat from his high school days from the back of his closet. “Does this suit your tastes, Mr. Lord of Darkness?”

Keith looked it over a moment before putting it on over his red flannel and doing up the buttons. The coat was fitted around his chest and shoulders then flared out some at his waist, making his somewhat feminine hips more prominent. “I’m surprised you own something this nice and still insist on looking like a giant, blue marshmallow.” 

“Hey, I outgrew that one and this is really warm,” he said, digging around old boxes that sat on the floor before producing a well loved black and white Star Wars scarf. He stood up straight and wrapped it around Keith’s neck before he could protest, tucking the ends in the front of his coat. “In case someone thinks you’re hot they’ll see you’re a nerd and realize they’re mistaken.”

“How dare you call me out in this way.”

Lance grinned, and ducked his head down to press a kiss to the other man’s nose. “Just gotta keep you in your place,” he said simply, taking his hand in his own, and led him out of his room and to the front door. He took his keys then called a goodbye to his sister before stepping out into the cold, not missing the look of pure disdain on Keith’s face. “C’mon, I’ll put the heater on.”

The sun sat high in the pale blue sky, reflecting brightly on the snow, and the crisp air nipped at his nose. It was about four in the afternoon, so it would be getting dark soon. Lance took advantage of the remaining light, and pointed things out to Keith as he drove to the ice cream shop. He drove him by his old high school and told him about the time he and his friends tried sledding down the big hill out front and nearly slid into traffic. Keith snorted a laugh, an easy smile on his face as he listened to all of his boyfriend’s stories.

He may or may not have taken the long way to the restaurant, eager to show Keith all of his old haunts, and when he called him out on it Lance laughed and promised he would go straight there. Just a few minutes later he was pulling up to the old family owned diner and leading Keith inside. The inside was a bit rundown but had an almost homey feel to it, the vinyl booths starting to peel but still the same bright red color Lance had grown up with. He led Keith to his favorite booth in the corner, and shrugged off his heavy coat before taking a seat across from him. Lance was just about to start telling him another story when the waitress—a girl he used to hang out with in high school—approached the table.

“Hey, Sanchez!” She beamed, eyes brightening when she looked down and saw who it was, and set a couple menus down in front of them. “Long time no see! Since when are you back in town?”

“Since a few months ago actually,” he said, grinning at her mock-insulted look. “I know, I know, I suck. I’ve been pretty busy.”

“Well I’m still offended you’re just now coming to see me,” she said, then nodded to Keith sitting opposite him. “You gonna introduce me?” 

“Oh, right. Ash, this is my boyfriend Keith, he’s visiting me from school. Keith, this is Ash. She’s the one that grabbed me before I went flying into traffic.”

Ash groaned, dropping her head back. “You told him about that?! God, I still can’t believe you guys were stupid enough to try that.”

“Hey, it was Michael’s idea, and you guys were seniors when I was a sophomore. I was a young, impressionable baby, and I wanted to look cool.”

“So nothing’s changed?” Keith piped up, coat discarded, and started to roll the sleeves of his flannel up to his elbows. 

“Hey! Rude!”

Ash snorted a laugh, and pulled the notepad out from her back pocket when she noticed others coming in. “Alright, what do you guys want to drink?” She scribbled down their orders and promised to come back after taking care of the other customers. 

“I am  _ not  _ like that anymore,” Lance said, pointing his finger at Keith. 

“Remember when you were trying to flirt with me and told me you knew how to ride a motorcycle when you saw me with mine?”

“Yeah?”

“And when I offered to let you sit on Red you almost immediately toppled over and had to break my bike’s fall with your leg?”

“Okay so I fell that  _ one time _ .”

Keith raised a brow at him, and instantly Lance didn’t like the almost mischievous look in his eyes. “What about our trip to the ocean this summer when you swore up and down to me you knew how to surf and we wiped out?”

“You threw me off balance!”

“How about a week before you left when Pidge said you couldn’t do a backflip and you  _ immediately  _ fell on your face trying-“

“Okay okay, your point has been made!” 

“Just gotta keep you in your place, right?” Keith teased, resting his elbow on the table with his chin in his palm, an undeniably fond look in his eyes.

“Don’t use my words against me,” Lance muttered, pouting, and turned his attention to the menu in front of him, flipping it open and pointedly not looking at his boyfriend. Distracted by the updated menu he didn’t notice Keith get up from his spot across from him, just felt his thigh touch his as he slid into the booth beside him. It was always a pleasant surprise having Keith initiate affection, so he smiled, leaning in close to nudge his shoulder with his.

His boyfriend nudged him back, but kept his gaze on the menu. “What’s good here?” 

Lance went through a rather extensive list of pros and cons for each entrée, explained how the burgers were great but probably too greasy for Keith’s liking, the chicken sandwiches were hit or miss, etc. By the time Ash came back with their waters they had decided, and Lance relayed the order to her—the “big boy” burger, buffalo chicken for Keith, fried pickles, a vanilla shake for Keith and red velvet for himself. 

When the food was brought to their table he was salivating, and he barely waited for Ash to set everything down to dig into his burger. He let out a pleased groan at the first bite, and let his head fall back in complete bliss. They ate in relative silence, still sitting side by side, and the occasional moan escaping Lance. He demanded Keith try his shake, because “red velvet is so painfully better than vanilla and we’re not leaving until you try it.”

Comfortably stuffed he pulled out his phone while they waited for the check and looked through the showtimes for the movie theater down the road. Keith was resting his chin on his shoulder, looking over their options, and Lance had his free hand idly rubbing across his boyfriend’s thigh.

“What about  _ Fantastic Beasts _ ?”

“I haven’t even seen all the  _ Harry Potter _ movies,” Keith muttered, pointedly continuing to stare at the other man’s phone instead of meeting his incredulous gaze.

“Okay, so I know what we’re doing when we get back to the house because that is simply unacceptable, and I don’t think it matters much since this is set in America in the twenties?”

“If that’s what you want to see then sure. But if you start yelling spells or whatever again I’m leaving you.”

“It might be worth it.”

After paying the bill and promising Ash he would drop by again so they could hang out the two left the diner and Lance drove to the theater. The car didn’t have enough time to heat up on the short drive, and by the time they parked he was grimacing, body shivering lightly. Lance wrapped his arm around him as they walked inside, rubbing his hand along his arm to try and warm him up with the friction. 

It was at least warm inside the theater, so when they got their tickets and found their seats, Lance comfortably stretched out. He propped his too long legs up on the seat in front of his after ensuring there was no one sitting in it, and draped his arm around Keith’s shoulders, sighing contently. Nothing could ruin this day.

He cried. Twice. And Keith made fun of him both times, unphased himself seeing as he  _ didn’t have a soul,  _ and spent the drive back to the house cooing at him about his poor, sensitive feelings. 

“Have you recovered now?” Keith teased, shoes flat against the dashboard in front of him, his arms crossed over his chest.

“I’m sorry that you’re an emotionless shell of a man who can’t recognize tragedy and react accordingly.”

He stayed quiet for a moment, and Lance was almost worried he’d actually offended him. Almost. “You gonna cry again if I say ‘it’s just like waking up?’” 

“Shut up, Keith.”

“Make me.”

“I will pull this car over and do just that so help me.”

Keith was smirking— _ smirking  _ for fucks sake—when Lance looked over at him, and if that wasn’t enough to do it, what he said next was. “Do it, I dare you.”

Lance never reacted well to dares.

He turned off to park on the side of the relatively empty road, trees on one side of them and an empty field on the other. It was late enough in the evening that not many cars were out, and if anyone did happen to pass, Lance had tinted windows. After putting the car in park, he undid his seatbelt, and reached across the car to grab Keith’s collar, pulling him into an almost rough kiss. 

At first, he just planned on kissing him once, maybe twice, to get Keith to shut up and hopefully stun him into silence. That…didn’t exactly happen. What started as one kiss turned to two, then three, then a continuous slide of lips and teeth and tongue, and he couldn’t stop. Keith was intoxicating, and kissing him was enough to drive Lance crazy. He pulled him closer though he knew no matter how close he was it wouldn’t be  _ enough _ , and seemingly feeling the same way, Keith climbed over the center console to straddle him.

Lance blindly groped along the side of his seat until he found the lever, releasing the seat so the both of them fell back with it. Somewhere along the way one of them must have knocked into the button for the window because Lance felt snow grazing the hands that were currently clutching at his boyfriend’s beltloops, but he really couldn’t bring himself to care. Not when Keith’s hips were grinding down against his and his teeth were on his throat.

He was about to suggest they get in the backseat when he heard the familiar crunch of snow outside the car. Maybe he was just imagining- oh. Oh no.

A middle aged woman approached the window, concern visible on her face, and ducked her head down to look inside. “Are you okay-  _ oh.  _ Oh you’re just enjoying each other’s company.”

_ Kill me. _

“Yep, we’re good!” Keith croaked, voice muffled from his face being buried in the crook of Lance’s neck.

“Well, um, be safe!” She said, turning on her heel. “Oh, and maybe turn off your hazards!”

Lance looked at the dashboard, and sure enough, both blinkers were going, the hazard button above the radio illuminated. He quickly sat up, pushing Keith up with him, and reached over to turn off his hazards, his cheeks burning bright red. Keith rolled up the window before climbing back into his seat, his cheeks equally flushed and shoulders trembling. Just as Lance was about to ask if he was cold, the other boy broke down laughing. He could only stare at him, flabbergasted by the fact that he was actually  _ laughing  _ at what just happened.

“S-sorry, sorry I just-“ he choked out, clutching his stomach, “she asked- she asked if we were okay then just- oh my god!” 

Well, at least he found it funny. Lance was still minorly mortified. But he couldn’t help the almost fond shake of his head as he rubbed his hands over his face. “That sure just happened,” he muttered, which only seemed to encourage Keith’s laughter.

“We- we have to- we have to tell the others, it’s too funny not to. When are you coming back to school?”

_ Shit. _

What was he supposed to say?  _ ‘Hey, yeah, so, I’m not?’  _ He couldn’t tell him he had no plans to go back, not when Keith was looking at him like that, with his eyes crinkling and a grin so happy and bright Lance was sure he was going to go blind if he didn’t look away. 

“I’m uh,” he stopped, finally tearing his gaze away, and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “I’m thinking halfway through next semester, but nothing’s set yet, y’know?”

Keith must have found him more believable than he did, because he just nodded, his grin softening to an almost shy smile. “Yeah, I figured. Just…I dunno, hurry up. I miss having you around and stupid things like that happening.”

Lance nodded, put the car back into drive, then reached over to set his hand on his boyfriend’s thigh. “I’ll try,” he murmured, unable to look him in the eyes when he knew he was lying. He knew that eventually he would have to come clean, tell Keith that he dropped out and he didn’t know when—or if—he would ever be moving back. But for now he just wanted to pretend that everything was okay, easy. He wanted to pretend that Keith would be okay with staying in a long distance relationship with him instead of dumping him and moving on.

Not that Lance was okay with that option himself. He didn’t want any of this, he wanted to be in school with his friends and his boyfriend, but he couldn’t abandon his family. He would devote his life to them, and just  _ hope  _ that Keith would understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. So. You do not know embarrassment until you're making out on the side of the road and some stranger asks you if you're okay thEN SAYS *THAT*  
> I swear the next chapter will have ACTUAL angst  
> song is Northern Downpour by Panic! At the Disco because I'm lame

**Author's Note:**

> chapter title is "their song" by Rise Against cause I'm gay as hell and I'm probably gonna keep it going with the theme of each chapter, so if you see a chapter title with an angsty as all hell song YOU KNOW WHAT'S COMING  
> it's like 2am so I'm gonna go to bed now I just got on a roll and pumped this out and I hope ya'll like it *double finger guns*


End file.
